Create, Don’t Procrastinate!

With the wintry weather lately, it's no wonder that National Procrastination Week is March 8-14. Why don't you fight the urge to put it off by dipping into your productive and creative side?

Bird by Bird contains some of the most practical advice for creativity and life in general I've ever read. Taking its namesake from advice her father gave for how to tackle a report on state birds, Lamott's eloquent, conversational book reminds us to approach each challenge by breaking it down into easily manageable tasks. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, just look at life through a one-inch frame, take it bird by bird.BibWidget

Getting Things Done: David Allen's landmark work on productivity provides a helpful framework for organizing your brain's "inbox," even if it suffers from jargon at times. By prioritizing your tasks and accomplishing small ones that may be adding to the clutter of your mind, you can free enough energy and "flow" to focus on more complex or creative goals. East meets West in this acclaimed self-help guide for your scheduling system.BibWidget

The Power of Now: One of the only spiritual enlightenment guides I can stomach, I feel like the essence of Tolle's book, that the present moment is all we have and all that truly matters, is an essential key to mental health. Most of us waste so much time worrying about the future or the past instead of making the most of now, whether that means writing that sonnet or sleeping in an extra hour.BibWidget